Album Reviews
Hear it Now
View More than three years later, James Mercer and his mates have finally followed up that indie-rock touchstone. Because Mercer is adored for his musical facility, not his thematic depth, anything short of a Metal Machine Music homage will be ecstatically received, and Wincing the Night Away certainly isn't that. The melodies are very nearly on a par with the curlicues and knockout drops of the band's breakthrough, and Mercer is still singing so lithe and refined you'd think Ray Charles had never existed. But as you'd hope from a record that took so long, this is not Chutes Too Narrow II. From the soft vibraphone arpeggio that introduces "Sleeping Lessons," Mercer abandons the delicate clarity that put Chutes Too Narrow across, and not for the good-natured low-fi of the debut. On most tracks, guitar lines are washed aside by vaguer keyboard, string and miscellaneous sounds, and most of the time Mercer's voice is doubled, echoed or otherwise treated.
We're in a prog moment that stretches from Joanna Newsom to Thom Yorke to My Chemical Romance, so indie fans may welcome such adjustments, and it's no insult to wonder whether Mercer isn't simply trend-hopping -- not when the trend answers so many young musicians' felt formal needs. Sheer melody aside, Chutes Too Narrow's greatest achievement is the apparent simplicity with which it executes Mercer's intricacies, and for that, sonic distinctness is essential. Wincing the Night Awayavoids prog grandiosity, and Mercer isn't schooled enough to waste time imitating Bach or Debussy. But the two earlier records come in under thirty-four minutes; here, eleven songs last 41:50. There's no way the new music can be good in all the modest ways the old music was. There's no way it can sound lissome or fetching or unguarded -- and fewer ways it can sound lyrical or plaintive or homemade.
Instead, Wincing the Night Away feels labored. Gracefully realized though it is, you can hear the three-plus years Mercer spent pondering how to satisfy the expectations his surprise classic had created -- and also how to remain fresh and true to himself. No doubt his mad legions will soon be shouting out the gnomic advice of "Australia" or the unresolved pleas of "Girl Sailor" the way they now chant the twisty argument for skepticism that is "Saint Simon." But fewer tunes here will lay such compulsions on the fan base. And fewer lyrics will help chat-room parsers understand.
Mercer has claimed he's cryptic because he's insecure -- so insecure he spends insomniac nights reliving the mistakes he made the day before. But there are other reasons, like, for instance, the indie habit of poetic obscurantism, the communications breakdowns of the chronically lovelorn, and a disregard for -- just on this record -- "protocol" ("Sea Legs"), "the old guard" ("Sleeping Lessons") and other "pie in the sky/Chock full of lies" ("A Comet Appears"). But though his phrasemaking is always subsumed by his tunesmithing, the thematic thrust of the first two albums is reasonably explicit. Not so here.
Usually a vernacular veneer is maintained, but nowhere are Mercer's labors more pronounced than in clumsy bits of overreaching like "With burnt sage and a forest of bygones" or "Into the crucible to be rendered an emulsion." Where the tentative love songs "Sea Legs" and "Girl Sailor" stoop to recognizable emotion, the gorgeous "Red Rabbits" is willfully opaque, and the only way we know "Phantom Limb" is about two young lesbians is that Mercer has said so. For all this, blame the horrors of public identity pressing in. As "Spilt Needles" warns gorgeously, "We'll set you up with some odd convictions/Because you're finally golden, boy." Knowability is scary, and even in indie -- especially in indie -- fame is a cross to bear. "Propagate, only to die" you can learn to live with.
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- Sleeping Lessons
- Australia
- Pam Berry
- Phantom Limb
- Sea Legs
- Red Rabbits
- Turn On Me
- Black Wave
- Spilt Needles
- Girl Sailor
- A Comet Appears
 |
Review 1 of 15
youngdebaser writes:
Sorry Natalie, the Shins’ latest effort is certainly not 'life changing'. Oh, Inverted World and Chutes Too Narrow succeeded because they contained such enchanting melodies. Songs on those albums like Saint Simon or Caring Is Creepy were intricate and spellbinding, but also catchy as hell, prompting comparisons to the Beach Boys. But unlike their Californian mentors, the Shins’ music also contained an uncontrollable energy, which carried earlier albums through their weaker moments. Chutes Too Narrow opens with a short scream, and that sense of excitement rarely abides until the album’s dreamy conclusion.
Wincing the Night Away lacks this underlying energy. The Shins had two more years to work on Wincing than any other album, and this is reflected in its meticulous production. The album sounds like a newly polished shoe looks. It is very crisp; even the fuzzy intro to Sleeping Lessons sounds mechanical. This overproduction drains the life out of many songs, precluding that vital sense of mystery and wonder present in such classics as New Slang and Weird Divide. Songs like Australia and Phantom Limb are typical of an album that sounds solid rather than awe-inspiring, an unfortunate first for the Shins.
The melodies are also lacking on the album. Mercer appears to have finally run out of ideas. The only time he comes close to a melodic masterpiece like Pink Bullets is with A Comet Appears, a hazy song reminiscent of an August breeze. The rigorous production ensures that this lack of substance is well hidden, hinting at why the album is so polished.
Wincing sounds like the album of a band facing change, but rarely embracing it. It lacks the melodic genius and the youthful energy so vital to the Shins’ previous work. However, the album has its moments. Sea Legs and Red Rabbits sound the least like the Shins’ previous work, and are two of the strongest tracks on the album because of it. The production on them is more ambitious than on any other track, adding layers of intriguing noises like maracas and synthesised drums. These songs sound nearly as wondrous as songs from earlier albums that depended on melody. Perhaps in the future the Shins will fully embrace this innovative production, rather than merely using it to polish lacklustre songs into a solid, yet dull, album.
Oh, and as for the RS review. Dude, you clearly don't get what the Shins are about if you spend most of the review analysing Mercer's lyrics lol.
Feb 23, 2007 15:47:04
Review 2 of 15
Oregonian writes:
While every here tries their best to wax eloquent about the short-comings of Wincing they need to take a step back and absorb the album collectively. What did you expect - Chutes 2: These chutes, they just got a helluva lot more Narrow? This is not Chutes again, just like Chutes wasn't Oh, Inverted World again.
I got this album a few months ago when it leaked, even though I'd listened to it for months I still went out and purchased the album because it is simply amazing. I agree with many before me, there aren't a ton of singles, but man, driving the coast through pouring rain and having this album playing is quite a surreal experience.
If you can't appreciate the artistic progression of bands, maybe you need to ask whether you're a fan of the band or a particular album. Pearl Jam didn't keep making 10 over and over and lost a bunch of sucky fans along the way, good riddance.
Feb 11, 2007 10:26:24
Review 3 of 15
DanaPtGrl writes:
I am a woman of few words (rarity!). That said, I must say this about Marty Crandall's keyboards in Track 5 ("Sealegs"): Rick Wright, Pink Floyd baby.
Feb 8, 2007 17:44:33
Review 4 of 15
imageteria3 writes:
Hi-Five to Hi-Fi!
I'm sorry, but I like the sleekness.
I waited for the Wondermints to hit it big...
I waited for somebody to buy Love's Forever Changes...so let there be Shins instead!
This should be wax from 1967-68.
Lovely! Flat out deserving of an in your face
you Seattle Slogs production.
Be prepared Shinboys! Fame is nice. Gloss is great! Just don't lose your roots!
A new and much older fan.
Jan 31, 2007 19:54:54
Review 5 of 15
xjwalker writes:
Come on everybody, be honest with yourselves about this album. It's not that good. A girlfriend sent me "Chutes Too Narrow" when I was in the Army and as soon as I heard the opening claps of Kissing the Lipless, I knew I was on to something special. Since then, I've been telling everyone who would listen that I discovered the most important new band since Nirvana and Pearl Jam came out of Seattle 16 years ago. The wait for "Wincing" nearly drove me insane. This was the first time since 9th grade that I bought an album on the day it was released (the last was Def Leppard's Hysteria, I'm not so proud to say).
I'm disappointed.
To put the Shins albums in a somewhat historical perspective, "Oh, Inverted World" is a bit like the unpolished promise of REM's "Murmur." Not that it sounds like that, but the artistry of the work is similar. "Chutes" has the brilliance of REM's fifth album "Document." They seemed to be on a quick learning curve for a breakthrough album like "Green," but instead Mercer stumbles into the chaos of "New Adventures in HiFi."
Sorry for the REM references, but that's the impact the Shins have had on me. "Chutes" alone puts Mercer in the ranks of Michael Stipe and the other great lyricists in rock history. "Chutes" went beyond great lyrics and gave us ten incredible songs - every note of every song perfectly placed. With the exception of "Phantom Limb," which is as good a rock song ever written, this new album is barely worth listening to. Sorry, but it's the truth.
Jan 24, 2007 18:08:58
Review 6 of 15
Shinlover writes:
The Shins took some chances and they will probably piss off some fans who wished they would have always kept a lo-fi folkie sound. As for myself, I really like this album for the most part. Every song is good to very good. It is by far their most "produced," album. It definitely doesn't have that lo-fi sound that was almost a trademark of the first two albums. Phantom Limb is the only song that would have comfortably fit in their first two albums (not counting flake music). This album even has a 90's sort of REM/Jane's Addiction/STP like feel to it especially on songs like Sea Legs, Black Wave, and Split Needles. Overall as an album Wincing is a great album and works very well. However as individual songs it pales in comparison to chutes too narrow or some of the better songs on Oh, Inverted. I think Chutes too narrow at least up to this point is their only classic album, with wincing and Oh Inverted as borderline classics. Although Wincing lacks the classic songs of Oh Inverted World it works much better as an album than Oh Inverted World did so I rank it slighly ahead. Best album of 07 to date.
Jan 24, 2007 10:18:46
Review 7 of 15
horvy writes:
I must admit, if I didn't know any better, Christgau was giving the reader an example of what exactly it is to listen to Wincing the Night Away. Elitist, yes, haughty, yes, perhaps even stuck-up. Don't get me wrong, lyrical obscurity is a large part of what makes The Shins so good. Unfortunately, continuing to devise words both poignant and indecipherable is hard, and it is evident in the release. While some songs are fantastic, others are contrived and forced a bit lyrically, though the Shins have always teetered on the edge between forced and poetic. While this effort is a gust of wind back towards the direction of overexertion, Wincing The Night Away does not fail to be a strong effort from one of the most eccentric and important bands of indie rock. As for Christgau's review, it is the perfect complement to what the Shins are, whatever you may say about his "holier-than-thou" style. At least he knows what he is talking about. Oh, and for the person who fails to comprehend the review, there is a star system for a reason, no matter who flawed Rolling Stone's has become. 3.5/5, thats a 70%, for all of you who can't decipher the verbiage; a mark you must be used to.
Jan 22, 2007 20:58:22
Review 8 of 15
Chuckio22 writes:
I can't figure out what's more cryptic. Mercer's lyrics or Cristgau's review. It's hard to tell whether he likes it or not.
Overall another great Shins album though the slow songs are getting a bit monotonous at this point. 8 out of 11 songs are great.
Jan 19, 2007 15:28:13
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